U.S., Russia: Officials Reach Provisional Agreement For Cease-Fire In Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, have reached a provisional agreement for a cessation of hostilities in Syria, Kerry said Feb. 21 during a news conference in Jordan, Reuters reported. Syrian President Bashar al Assad said Feb. 20 he was ready for a cease-fire, on condition "terrorists" did not use a lull in fighting to their advantage and that countries backing rebels halted support for them. The Syrian opposition had earlier said it had agreed to the "possibility" of a temporary truce, provided there were guarantees Damascus' allies, including Russia, would cease operations. Kerry said he anticipated that U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin would be speaking in the coming days to complete the provisional agreement.